Government 'not helping to fight racism'
The Government was today accused of failing to adequately tackle the problem of racism which is "taking hold" in the country.
New research suggests that three in four Irish people believe the government has a role in educating the public about racism.
Amnesty International, which commissioned the survey, said it was "unacceptable" that there are no official statistics on racially-motivated attacks and other incidents.
Sean Love, director of the human rights organisation in Ireland, said at the launch of its anti-racism campaign, that more than two-thirds of those expressing a view said that people should be prosecuted for racial abuse.
He said: "These figures expose a crucial failure of political leadership and suggest that barely one in five people believe the government is doing enough to combat racism.
"Racism is taking hold. People are being abused on our streets and attacked in their homes.
"The problem is not confined to Dublin and targets are not just immigrants. Racism has been inflicted on black Irish and Travellers for generations.
"Is the government waiting until we reach the levels of racist violence in other countries before it takes action?"
The survey also found that 40% of people would be reluctant to welcome members of the traveller community as local residents and that only 15% could see themselves as being friends with a traveller.
Mr Love added: "It has been 15 months since the government said it would run a public awareness campaign against racism. It still hasn’t happened. Why not?"
The group is also calling for an independent body to investigate racially-motivated incidents.
Mr Love said: "At present, it is difficult to accurately assess the real level of racism in Irish society.
"Incredibly, no official statistics of racial incidents are kept and it is left to voluntary bodies to record racist attacks - this is wholly unacceptable."
